Additional $500 million good news for road users

The Government is to
be congratulated for its decision to invest a windfall tax
gain of $500 million in transport infrastructure the
Automobile Association said today.

“This use of additional
and unexpected revenue in transport infrastructure is
extremely wise. Analysis by Allen Consulting and Infometrics
released last year demonstrated that transport
infrastructure provides an economic return on capital that
would generate more revenue for the Government in the long
run,” AA Public Affairs Director George Fairbairn said.

Mr
Fairbairn said the additional funding on top of the $300
million over three years already announced would almost
certainly speed up much needed roading projects – especially
in Auckland.

“This is a large sum of money, no matter how
one looks at it, and it will make a difference” he
said.

Mr Fairbairn said the highest priority for spending
would have to be on speeding up the completion of the State
Highway 20 and State Highway 18 ring route around Auckland,
closely followed by the major safety projects such as
four-laning of the Waikato Expressway and State Highway 2 to
Maramarua. While this fresh injection of capital will not
fund all of these projects it could significantly advance
their construction.

“The AA has been concerned for some
time that many of the most important transport projects in
the country have been left outside the ten-year planning
window of the National Land Transport Programme. This has
hidden the size of the roading infrastructure deficit facing
the country over the next twenty to thirty years.“ he
said.

Infrastructure construction is not something that
can be turned on and off at a whim. In order to spend this
additional revenue well it will be essential to accelerate
the current slow processes to get projects
completed.

ABOUT AA The New Zealand Automobile
Association is an incorporated society with over one million
members. It represents the interests of road users who
collectively pay almost $2 billion in taxes each year
through fuels excise, road user charges and
GST

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